Batch Process Control

Chapter 37
37.1 Variety of Plant Design
37.2 Plant Structure
37.3 Physical Model
37.4 Process Model
37.5 Procedural Model
37.6 Methodology
37.7 Recipe Model
37.8 Activity Model
37.9 Comments

When raw materials are processed in discrete prehensive treatment is provided in the text by
quantities, the processes are said to be batch or Fisher (1990).
semi-batch. These processes are normally carried This chapter is based upon the IEC 61512 stan-
out in the liquid phase although solids, usually in dard for batch process control. It was developed by
the form of a powder, may be fed into the mixture the ISA and is generally referred to as S88. Part 1
or gases bubbled through it. Batch operations are of the standard focuses on the models and termi-
ones in which all the reagents are charged prior to nology used. Part 2 focuses on the underlying data
processing whereas in semi-batch operations the structures. There are five key models within Part 1:
bulk of the reagents are pre-charged but one or physical, process, procedural, recipe and activity.
more reagents are subsequently trickle fed. Pro- These establish a framework for the specification
cesses may be as simple as a mixing operation or of requirements for the control of batch processes
involve complex multi-stage reactions. Such pro- and for the subsequent design and development of
cesses are used extensively in the manufacture application software. For a more detailed under-
of bio-chemicals, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, standing of S88 the reader is referred to the texts
and so on. Typically, throughput is of a low volume by Fleming (1998) and Parshall (2000) and to the
and high value relative to the continuous processes standard itself.
associated with bulk and commodities chemicals
manufacture.
Batch process control is concerned with the au-
tomatic control of batch processes. Control may
37.1 Variety of Plant Design
consist of a few simple sequences or involve com- A batch plant typically consists of a limited number
plex recipe handling and batch scheduling. It is of major equipment items (MEI), such as charge
invariably carried out by some form of digital con- vessels, reactors, filters, etc., each with its own an-
trol system. For an introduction to computer con- cillary equipment.Operations on a batch of materi-
trolled batch processing, the reader is referred to als are normally carried out to completion, or near
the IChemE guide by Sawyer (1993). A more com- completion, in a single MEI referred to as a unit.
 268 37 Batch Process Control

The batch may then remain in that unit for further 37.2 Plant Structure
processing or be transferred to another unit. There
A process cell contains one or more units. If the
is much variety in batch plant design, depending
units of a cell are not configured in any particu-
on the:
lar order, they are said to be clustered. In that case
• Number of products,i.e. single product or multi- batches tend to move backwards and forwards be-
products. tween units according to what operations are re-
• Throughput, in terms of the frequency and size quired to be carried out and what ancillary equip-
of batches. ment is associated with particular units.
• Number of units, i.e. single or multiple units. Alternatively, units may be configured into
• Grouping of units into cells. streams. A stream is the order of units used in the
• Organisation of units within cells into production of a specific batch. Put another way, a
streams/trains. stream is the route taken through the plant by a
• Number of streams, i.e. single or multi-stream. batch. Typically, each unit is dedicated to a certain
• Capacity of different streams. type of operation, such as reaction or filtration, or-
• Number of batches being processed simultane- dered according to the processing requirements,
ously in a single stream. such that batches progress linearly from unit to
• Dedication of a stream to“campaigns”of batches unit along the stream. A train consists of the units
of a single product. and equipment modules used to realise a particu-
• Materials of construction of particular units. lar stream.
• Extent of ancillary equipment associated with Analysis of the structure of a process cell gives
the units. a good insight into the nature of both the oper-
• Sharing of ancillary equipment between units. ations and the control requirements. The key to
• Sharing of units between streams. this analysis is identification of parallel and se-
• Ability to reconfigure units within a cell,i.e. mul- quential operations. Consider, for example, the cell
tipurpose plant. depicted in Figure 37.2 which consists of four pro-
cessing units and two storage units. This clearly is
An interesting perspective on this is depicted a multi-stream plant. It is said to be networked be-
in Figure 37.1 in which type of batch plant is cause batches can be switched from one stream to
categorised on the basis of variety (number of another.As shown, there are potentially at least ten
products) against volume (frequency and size of different streams. In practice, it is likely that only a
batches). limited number of streams and trains would exist.

Volume

Unit 2 Unit 3
Dedicated single-stream

Dedicated Multi-product
Unit 1
multi-stream multi-stream

Unit 6

Multi-product Multi-product
Unit 4 Unit 5
single-stream multi-purpose
Variety

Fig. 37.1 Batch plant type categorised on basis of variety and

volume Fig. 37.2 Process cell with processing and storage units
 37.3 Physical Model 269

37.3 Physical Model trol.The sequence control module would consist of

discrete i/o channels and the flow control module
The physical (equipment) model of the standard is would be an analogue feedback loop. The various
shown in Figure 37.3.The unit is the key layer of the valves, sensors and so on would be the elements of
physical model. As stated, it is usually centred on the control modules.
an MEI, such as a mixing vessel or a reactor. A unit
includes all of the logically related equipment nec-
Inert Vent
essary to perform the processing required in that

Blanketing
unit. One unit operates relatively independently of FC
Reagents
other units. Vac
Charging
Enterprise
LI

Site
Steam
Area
Heating
TIC
Process cell
Pumping
Unit Fig. 37.4 Mixing vessel: one unit comprising four equipment
modules
Equipment module
Although a unit frequently operates on,or contains,
Control module the complete batch of material at some point in the
processing cycle, it may operate on only part of
Element a batch, i.e. a partial batch. However, a unit may
Fig. 37.3 The batch physical (equipment) model not operate on more than one specific batch at
any point in time. Put another way, different parts
Units normally, but not necessarily, consist of of one unit cannot simultaneously contain parts
equipment modules which may themselves contain of different batches. It follows that defining the
other equipment modules. Similarly, equipment boundary of a unit is a key design decision.
modules consist of control modules. Although not It is inevitable that some equipment modules
formally included as a layer in the physical model, and/or control modules will have to be shared be-
control modules obviously have to consist of ele- tween units.Weigh vessels, valve manifolds and re-
ments. ceivers are obvious candidates. Such modules have
Consider, for example, the mixing vessel shown to be deemed either as exclusive use resources, in
in Figure 37.4.The mixing vessel and all of its ancil- which case each resource can only be used by one
lary equipment may be considered as a unit. Typ- unit at a time, or as shared use resources which can
ically, there would be separate equipment mod- be used by more than one unit at a time.
ules for blanketing, charging, heating and pump- In drawing the boundaries around units ques-
ing. For example, the equipment module for blan- tions inevitably arise about ownership of the
keting would consist of the all the pipework and pumps and valves between them. A pump is best
control modules required for admitting the inert deemed to be part of the unit containing the source
gas,venting and applying the vacuum.There would vessel, i.e. it is a discharge pump, if there is one
be at least two control modules, one for sequenc- source vessel and one or more target vessels. How-
ing the isolating valves and the other for flow con- ever, it is deemed to be part of the unit containing
 270 37 Batch Process Control

the target vessel, i.e. a charge pump, if there are Process

several source vessels and only one target.
Much the same reasoning can be applied to
valves. A valve is deemed to be part of the unit Process stage
containing the target vessel, i.e. it is an inlet valve,
if there is only one valve between the source vessel
and target vessel. An obvious exception to this is Process operation
the last unit in a train which will also have an outlet
valve. When there are two valves between any two
vessels, one is deemed to be an outlet valve and the Process action
other as an inlet. Fig. 37.5 The batch process model
The upper three layers of the physical model,
i.e. enterprise, site and area, whilst of interest from
The significance of the process model is appar-
a corporate perspective, do not normally impinge
ent in relation to the recipe model as explained
directly on process automation and are not consid-
later in the chapter. In practice, the process model
ered further in this chapter.
features at higher levels of the recipe model but,
rather surprisingly, is relatively unimportant com-
pared to the physical and procedural models at the
37.4 Process Model lower levels.
A batch process may be subdivided hierarchically
as depicted in Figure 37.5.
The process may be considered to be an or- 37.5 Procedural Model
dered set of process stages, organised in series The procedural model is shown in Figure 37.6.
and/or in parallel. As such, any one process stage Procedures address the operational requirements
usually operates independently of the others. It and contain all the sequencing necessary to enable
results in a planned sequence of physical and/or batches of materials to be processed. A procedure
chemical changes to the materials being processed. is the highest level in the procedural hierarchy and
Typical stages are reaction and separation. Process is normally associated with a train or, at least, with
stages may be decomposed further into ordered
sets of process operations such as charge, and pro-
Procedure
cess actions such as heat or hold.
In principle, the process model may be decom-
posed without reference to the physical model of Unit procedure
the target plant. For example, process stages are
not constrained by unit boundaries. Indeed, pro-
cess stages that are not associated with a single Operation
unit are of particular significance for decomposi-
tion purposes. For example, a single stage reaction Phase
could take place in a pair of agitated vessels,each of
which is defined to be a unit.Also, if a unit is multi-
functional, say a reactor is subsequently used for Step
batch distillation, the process stage may need to
be defined to include all of the functions because a
Action
unit is not permitted to simultaneously exist within
different stages. Fig. 37.6 The batch procedural model
 37.5 Procedural Model 271

a process stage. Procedures consist of ordered sets

of unit procedures, operations and phases. Note Operation
that the operations and phases of the procedural
Operation
model relate to the process operations and process
Phase Phase Phase
actions of the process model respectively. Operation
The operation is the key layer of the procedural Phase
model and consists of an independent processing
Phase Phase
activity such as transfer, charge, circulate, and so Step Step
on. Operations are associated with and carried to
Action
completion within units. It is helpful in defining Step Action
the scope of an operation to identify key process Action
states of the unit and/or batch such as empty, full, Action
ready and finished. An operation may be thought Fig. 37.7 Parallel and sequential phases within an operation
of as being the procedural entity that causes pro-
gression from one such state to the next. Operation function blocks. Indeed, the drive towards con-
boundaries should only occur where it is safe to put figuration for batch has been one of the primary
the unit into a hold-state. forces behind S88. A phase is the smallest practi-
Parallel operations on a single unit are not per- cable group of control functions that can be suffi-
mitted within S88, operations may only occur se- ciently decoupled from the rest of the operation to
quentially. Thus, for example, two different opera- exist in isolation.Phases are associated with equip-
tions could not be operating simultaneously on the ment and control modules. The objective, from a
same batch in one unit. Also, operations are not design point of view, is to establish the library of
permitted to operate across unit boundaries. For operations and phases.
example, an operation cannot simultaneously op- To enable the development of phase logic, i.e.
erate on parts of the same batch in different units, the software for implementing phases, further de-
as may be required during a transfer. In practice, composition of phases into steps and actions is
this would be dealt with by two separate opera- essential. Although not formally included as lay-
tions working in parallel on different units, each ers in the procedural model, steps and actions are
handling parts of the same batch. It follows that defined in the IEC 61131-3 standard and are de-
defining the scope of an operation is a key design scribed in detail by Lewis (1998).
decision.These constraints are considered by some
• Steps consist of actions grouped together for
to be an unnecessary restriction: it remains to be
composite execution and offer natural breaks
seen to what extent suppliers will conform with S88
for timing purposes. Thus, by design, subject to
in this respect.
the constraints of program flow, plant status and
Whereas operations are only permitted to oc-
software logic, the rate at which a phase is exe-
cur sequentially on a single unit, phases may oc-
cuted is typically one step per second.
cur both sequentially and/or in parallel within any
• Actions are typically implemented by means of
single operation, as depicted in Figure 37.7. This,
individual instructions such as lines of code or
together with the constructs used for branching,
rungs of ladder logic. Note that the actions of
looping, etc. within the implementation language,
the procedural model do not relate to the pro-
should provide sufficient flexibility to satisfy most
cess actions of the process model.
requirements.
Operations are created by the configuration of For any given batch or part batch of raw mate-
phases drawn from a library of proven phases, rials being processed within a unit, it is through
somewhat analogous to the implementation of the operations and phases of the procedural model
continuous control functions by configuration of that the operator interacts with the batch. That in-
 272 37 Batch Process Control

restart Thus, for example, all of the functionality depicted

Complete Restarting Held Holding
in Figure 37.8 could be supported at the level of
reset
hold the operation but only a subset of it supported at
start pause the level of the phase. There are many non trivial
Idle Running Pausing
issues here, especially concerning how changes in
abort stop resume state relate to each other. For example:
Aborting Stopping Paused • if an operation is put into hold, is the cur-
rently running phase put into hold or allowed
to progress to its end point?
Aborted Stopped
reset • if a phase is stopped, is the parent operation
reset stopped, paused or put into hold?
Fig. 37.8 Batch process and control states • if one phase of an operation is stopped, are
other parallel phases within the same operation
teraction typically entails starting, holding, stop- stopped too? And so on.
ping and aborting batches as appropriate. Such in-
tervention in the progression of a batch may be
thought of in terms of changes to key control states
of the unit and/or batch as depicted in Figure 37.8.
37.6 Methodology
The operator interface of the control system clearly The relationships between the layers of the mod-
needs to provide the functionality necessary to els are as depicted in Figure 37.9. This provides a
support the interaction required. That is system framework for decomposition of requirements for
dependant and S88 is not prescriptive about this. batch purposes.

Start
Isolate process cell
Establish no of products P
For p=1 P For p=1 P
establish no of trains T (batch basis) establish no of procedures N
For t=1 T For n=1 N
identify no of stages G (process basis) establish no of unit procedures M
For g=1 G For m=1 M
define no of units U (plant basis) establish no of operations R
For u=1 U For r =1 R
determine no of equipment modules Q select no of phases F
For q=1 Q For f=1 F
determine no of control modules C determine no of steps S
For c=1 C For s=1 S
determine no of elements E specify no of actions A
Group elements into Order actions into step
control module
Group control modules into Order steps into phase
equipment module
Group equipment modules into unit Configure phases into operation

Associate units with stage Configure operations into

unit procedure
Link stages to train Configure unit procedures into
procedure

Fig. 37.9 Relationship between layers of physical and procedural models

 37.6 Methodology 273

The flow chart has two halves, the left half focuses units, in which case this layer collapses into the
on the physical model and the right half on the next.
procedural model. Note, in particular, the align- The fourth layer is, arguably, the most impor-
ment of the layers of the two halves. One of the lay- tant because it is the most tangible within the stan-
ers, that between units and operations, is quite ex- dard. It defines the number of units U and estab-
plicit within the standard.Some layers,for example lishes the corresponding number of operations R.
that between process stages and unit procedures, This is done on a plant basis by considering all the
are implied. Other layers, such as that between ele- MEIs, such as process vessels, as candidate units
ments and actions,are logical but outside the scope and all transitions that take a batch from one key
of the standard. Note also the nested nature of the state to another as candidate operations. Remem-
constructs. For each entity established at one level, ber that a unit can contain only one batch (or par-
all the relevant entities have to be determined at tial batch) at a time and that only one operation
the next. can be carried out on a unit at a time. However,
The first (top) layer assumes that the bound- since operations may be carried out serially, it can
ary between the cell of interest and the rest of the be expected that R > U.
site/area is known. Within that cell each of the P The fifth layer establishes the number of equip-
products for which batches are to be made is iden- ment modules Q and the number of phases F. In
tified. This information should be available from general, each of the equipment modules within
production records and marketing forecasts. a unit will be manipulated by a separate phase
The second layer establishes the number of within an operation. Thus, for each equipment
trains T and the number of procedures N. This module, there will be at least one phase. There
is done on a batch basis, for each product, by fol- could be more than one phase per module because
lowing the route through the plant structure that the equipment may need to be manipulated dif-
would be taken by a batch. Each such stream yields ferently according to the process operations, say,
a train. If the plant is multi-stream and networked, so it can be expected that F > Q. If a library of
as in Figure 37.2, then a likely outcome is several appropriate phases exists, there is no need for fur-
streams per train. There is no need to consider po- ther decomposition: the sixth and seventh layers
tential streams that will not occur in practice. As a are embedded as far as the user is concerned.
rule of thumb, for each stream there will be at least The sixth layer relates the number of control
one procedure. However, there will not necessarily modules C to the number of steps S. Although
be a different procedure for each product.Products equipment modules do not have to be decomposed
which are generically similar should be produced into control modules, and control modules may be
by the same procedure using different parameter manipulated by phases directly,it is logical to think
lists. Additional procedures may be required for in terms of control modules being manipulated by
handling inter-batch cleaning requirements. steps. It is unlikely, in practice, that steps can be
The third layer involves identifying the num- configured in the same way as phases. To a large
ber of process stages G and the number of unit extent steps will be bespoke, depending on con-
procedures M. This is done on a process basis by text, so one can expect S > C.
considering the nature of the processing opera- The seventh layer is essentially a question of
tions carried out on a batch. It is logical to assume developing actions to enable implementation of
that for each stage there will be a corresponding the steps. Although there is an alignment between
unit procedure, although it is quite permissible for the elements and the actions, this is only notional.
a procedure to consist of operations and phases The actions will, in general, operate on the control
only. However, unless a process stage embraces modules rather than on elements directly. There is
more than one unit, this layer is academic. Pro- therefore little direct relationship between A and
cess stages are invariably associated with single E, except that each is potentially large.
 274 37 Batch Process Control

The lower half of the flow chart is essentially a tion: header, formulation, equipment, procedures,
question of ordering, grouping and configuring safety and compliance information. The informa-
multiple entities at one level into single entities tion contained in each of the five categories has to
at the next. be appropriate to the level of recipe.

• The header contains the batch name, lot no,

37.7 Recipe Model product information, etc.
The recipe model is depicted in Figure 37.10. The • The formulation covers the amounts of raw ma-
standard defines four levels of recipe: general, site, terials, operating conditions etc. In the control
master and control. These different levels enable a recipe this is invariably in the form of data in a
range of representations varying from the general, parameter list (B-list).
which are generic process descriptions typically • The equipment relates to the physical model and,
focusing on the chemistry with normalised values, for example, identifies equipment and control
through to the control which are detailed and un- modules. In the control recipe this information
ambiguous. Although translation of recipes from invariably consists of channel addresses in a pa-
the generic to the specific is essentially a ques- rameter list (A-list).
tion of detail, the process is quite complex. The • Procedures enable the progression of batches, as
site recipe is specific to plant type, eg batch reactor described. At the master recipe level the phases
with jacket for cooling water and inlet manifold, are referred to by name only, but at the control
whereas the master recipe is equipment specific in level all the steps and actions are included.
that it relates to the units and equipment modules • Safety and compliance information provides for
in a particular cell and/or train. The control recipe miscellaneous information and comment as ap-
is batch specific and fully parameterised. It is only propriate.
the master and control types of recipe that are of
immediate interest from a control point of view.
37.8 Activity Model
Equipm’t Formula Safety & Procedure Header The batch control activity model is depicted in Fig-
requ’ts compliance ure 37.11. In a sense, this diagram is an overview of

General Recipe Production Production

Process description planning & information
recipe management
Generic scheduling management

Plant type Site Control schedule Status Batch

recipe
history
Process
Equipment specific Master Master recipe management
recipe Batch reports
Specific Control recipe Status
Single batch Control
recipe
Unit
Fig. 37.10 The batch recipe model Phase logic supervision

Commands State
A recipe is defined to be the complete set of in-
Process
formation that specifies the control requirements control
for manufacturing a batch of a particular prod-
uct. Recipes contain five categories of informa- Fig. 37.11 The batch activity model
 37.8 Activity Model 275

the S88 architecture. It shows the relationship be- • Production information management concerns
tween the various control activities, each of which the logging of batch data, its storage and its
is summarised below. The basis of this relationship transformation into batch reports. The standard
is the flow of information between activities. details the requirements for journal structure,
querying systems, historical data, batch track-
• Recipe management concerns the storage, de- ing, batch end reports, etc.
velopment and manipulation of recipes. Master • Process management functions at the level of
recipes are downloaded to process management the process cell. Master recipes are selected,
from which control recipes are downloaded to edited as appropriate and translated into control
unit supervision. recipes. Operational requirements are cast into
• Production planning and scheduling. Produc- batch parameter lists (B lists).Individual batches
tion planning receives customers’ orders and are initiated.Cell resources are managed accord-
generates a master schedule for a given time ing to the requirements of the control schedule,
frame. This consists of a queue of recipes in the subject to the constraints of shared equipment.
order they are to be run, each recipe uniquely Cell and batch data is gathered.
relating a batch of a particular product to both a • Unit supervision relates the equipment of a unit
unit type and a procedure. Then, knowing what to the operations and phases of its control recipe.
master recipes are available for each unit type, In particular, the phases, which are referred to
and plant status information from process man- by name only in recipes at higher levels of the
agement, the dynamic scheduler produces the recipe model, acquire their phase logic in terms
control schedule. This queue relates batches to of steps and actions. They are further param-
specific units and procedures, in the same time eterised with equipment address lists (A lists).
frame, taking into account delays in processing, Unit supervision includes the requesting and
availability of equipment,stock of raw materials, release of shared resources. Commands are re-
etc. In effect, the dynamic scheduler has a queue ceived from process management and process
management function. control status information is returned.

Recipe Management Activity

General recipe Site recipe Master recipe
Process Process Procedure
Process stage Process stage Unit procedure
Process Process
operation operation Operation

Process Process Phase

action action

Unit Supervision Process Manage-

Activity ment Activity
Procedure
Operation
Unit procedure
Phase
Operation

Step
Phase
Action

Fig. 37.12 Mapping of process and procedural models onto activity model
 276 37 Batch Process Control

• Process control executes the phase logic. This 37.9 Comments

is realised by means of conventional regulatory
The standard establishes a framework that ad-
and discrete control functions. It is also respon-
dresses a variety of complex issues that are not
sible for the gathering and display of data.Note
recognised by many, let alone understood. By
that plant and process protection lies outside the
defining terminology and relating it to meaning-
scope of S88.
ful models much of the ambiguity which pervades
batch process control is removed. More impor-
Some of the relationships between the activity tantly, the framework of S88 should force the de-
model and the recipe, process and procedural velopment of more structured specifications and
models are depicted in Figure 37.12. lead to better quality application software.
Whilst not stated in the standard itself, it is Most major control system suppliers have com-
appropriate to think in terms of the higher level mitted themselves to evolving the batch control
activities of recipe management, production plan- functionality of their systems towards confor-
ning and scheduling and production information mance with the S88 framework. This will be en-
management being realised by some off-line man- abled by Part2 of S88 which focuses on underlying
agement information system (MIS), with the lower issues such as data models, data exchange method-
level activities being handled by nodes within a ology, phase interfaces, general recipe definition
DCS as appropriate. and user depiction of a recipe procedure. It is easy
to visualise tools being developed to enable users
to articulate their requirements in terms of S88 ob-
jects and constructs, and for those requirements to
be translated automatically into application soft-
ware. To what extent it results in portability of S88
objects and code between systems remains to be
seen.